I was surprised at how gnarly some of the roots were, one section I walked because I just couldn’t see a possible way down, not in the damp anyway.

this bit perchance ?

I think the ‘lack of flow’ that gets touted often is from people having to pedal!.

I suspect so, though Kiroughtree is similar in that there’s no really big ups followed by really big downs a la Glentress, but most people seem to really rate it.

I like Dalbeattie, it’s a bit old school, but it’s got a some really nice features, a cracking skills section and was pretty close to where I grew up so it got ridden reasonably often and I still liked it.

I expect prawny meant the rooty bit that starts with whoopy doo into the the pines (off camber root section) into the the bear and exits at pinball wizard

See trail map here , fwiw that is/was my favourite section, get it right and it was so fast.

^ that section up there leads you to montagu bridge, if you hit the roots just right you can clear that wee drop using the big root on your right to launch off.

Somafunk I is in the right sort of area it think, it was a much taller slope that the bit in Ian’s picture (though I walked that bit too :lol:)

I had to really bail on a bit of the red not long after you rejoin from the black, I’ve got it on camera the bike goes left I go right, could have been nasty, glad I swapped back tot flat pedals for the trip now.

This trip has really made me realise how much I miss my full suss, I’m better off with a hard tail 95% of the time, but that 5% is hard work

There is a left hand switchback/hairpin just before you drop down into the pines/off camber section – gives you just enough time to focus on the roots and think shit! 😯

Edit : Don’t beat yourself up at not riding it, you’d be surprised at how many elite class riders ran down that section (it used to be my preferred marshalling point at races)

My first ride at Drum was a bit of a slap to the face, there were a bunch of bits on the black I couldn’t get my head round at all, including all of that there. I love the different line choices now, there’s so many ways to ride that bit from top to bottom and it feels so different on different bikes.

Soma/prawny – I find the pines to pinball bit OK, but have only once (last week) got over that bit in my picture !!

Lovely trails though, maybe we should have an stw ride there ?

COUNT ME IN 😛

Me too

Maybe we need to get Rik on the thread too and sort a day next month ?

Ha.. Yup I’d be up for that.

First weekend in September’s out, got a big corporate thing going on, but any weekend after that would work for me.

If you’ve not been for a while there is now quite alot more ‘air’ to be had on both the red and the black routes..

Pow’r tae yer pedals

Rik

Just putting the finishing touches to a pump track just down from the kiosk today anaw.. 🙂

Lovely trails though, maybe we should have an stw ride there ?

Can we not go to Ae instead? 😀

bangin on – Member
Just putting the finishing touches to a pump track just down from the kiosk today anaw..

Rik – had a wee look at that on Fri, looks like it will be fun ?

Will start a fresh thread for a possible group ride !

richmtb – Member
Lovely trails though, maybe we should have an stw ride there ?
Can we not go to Ae instead?

Those who could make a weekend of it could also do Dalbeattie and then have a proper “real time” live from the trail discussion/debate” pausing at the end of each section to post their updates WRC style 😉

^^^^ 😆

^^^^ with live Strava updates too ! 🙂 …oh no hang on, thats another thread …. 🙂

We could all get SPOT trackers so people can track it online and join in, like the highland trail 550. Exactly like that.

“Hour 2. Northwind was making good progress but is now climbing back up the slab because he had to do it to prove he could, but the chicken run is much more fun. The rest of the group rides on because they’re tired of talking about tyres”

“Hour 7. The leaders have reached that fun bit with about 20 different lines. They set up camp for the night for maximum sessionage”

Ooh pump track? Missed that, when will that be open?

The new jumps section on the red is ace, the more I think about it the more I like drum, will definitely go there again.

I had no where near enough speed to clear any of the new jumps on he black though, looks a decent line if you’re better than me though 😀

‘Hour 8 – Iainc has faceplanted. again. How much more punishment can one face take…’

aye 🙂

Somafunk I is in the right sort of area it think, it was a much taller slope that the bit in Ian’s picture (though I walked that bit too :lol:)

I had to really bail on a bit of the red not long after you rejoin from the black, I’ve got it on camera the bike goes left I go right, could have been nasty, glad I swapped back tot flat pedals for the trip now.

This trip has really made me realise how much I miss my full suss, I’m better off with a hard tail 95% of the time, but that 5% is hard work

Tried any skills training? Not having a pop but I did some earlier this year and it’s made a serious (positive) difference to my abilities.

I had a half day earlier in the year, but there’s nothing really in my area that compares to the terrain round here, so there’s limited places to practice the right sort of skills. Give me shiny pebbles and slick sandy trails and your guy 😆

I might have to do another half day later in the year or next year though, for some more advanced stuff, the basics helped a bit but it was mainly about how to carry speed once you were going.